2017 saw big turnover in Gila Regional leaders

While it has settled down some recently, the past year was one of remarkable changes at Gila Regional Medical Center, perhaps most in those centered around the hospital’s administrative offices and the people who hold them.

When 2017 began, the hospital was already adjusting to big changes with the departure of three-year CEO Brian Cunningham and his replacement in January by interim CEO Alfredo Ontiveros. Just five days into the new year, the Gila Regional board of trustees approved a contract with Ontiveros — who had also served as CEO of Gila Regional from 1995 to 1998 during a time when the position was filled by private contractor Quorum — for $59,424 for three months, plus travel, lodging, meals and a vehicle. That came out to $123.80 per hour based on a 40-hour week. The contract also allowed for Ontiveros to stay on for longer than three months if his work lasted longer.

Much of that work revolved around finding a permanent CEO for Gila Regional. That work began quickly. In February, Gila Regional announced that it would pool 15 representatives of stakeholder organizations from around the county into a selection committee to narrow down a national search for the CEO. From there, Ontiveros and the board of trustees would make a final selection from the finalists presented by the search committee. Most of the 15 organizations were tied to the hospital directly — medical staff, nursing staff, other employees, Gila Regional Auxiliary, the Gila Regional Foundation, and a hospital retiree. Local municipalities were represented, as well as the Grant County Commission, which owns Gila Regional and appoints its trustees. Western New Mexico University, a frequent collaborator with the hospital, and Freeport-McMoRan copper mines, the county’s largest single employer, were also included. The Silver City Grant County Chamber of Commerce and Hidalgo Medical Services rounded out the group.

While that committee did their work, Ontiveros was busy making his mark on the rest of the hospital’s administration. In March, the interim CEO made perhaps the biggest impact of his entire stay at Gila Regional by laying off 12 administrators at various levels, eliminating their positions. The move was expected to save the hospital an annual $1,079,883, when coupled with allowing seven other positions to remain vacant. The highest position eliminated in Ontiveros’ move was the chief operations officer, a position then held by Jed Rudd, who said he was responsible for quality, safety and regulatory improvement projects.

In early April, the search committee returned to the board of trustees with a short list of candidates for the permanent CEO position. Just over a week later, the board selected Taffy Arias — then CEO of for-profit Martin General Hospital in Williamston, N.C. Arias accepted the position for a contracted annual salary of $270,000 plus up to $25,000 in moving expenses. That is a $12,500 raise over the $257,500 former Gila Regional CEO Cunningham made at the end of his three-year stint in the position.

Arias arrived in June amidst a storm of controversy regarding the board of trustees’ decision — made almost entirely behind closed doors — to replace longtime contractor New Mexico Oncology/Hematology Consultants (better known as New Mexico Cancer Center) with the University of New Mexico Cancer Center. But those most vocal critics of the board’s actions have always justly repeated that Arias deserves no blame for that.

The new CEO did, however, have to deal with the consequences of the chaos surrounding the Gila Regional Cancer Center. When the former contractors there departed in July, there was no one to continue services. The board had only approved the contract with UNM Cancer days before, so they didn’t immediately have staff in place.

That meant the many patients who received treatment at the cancer center had to go elsewhere. And with them went their money. Since cancer patients not only received the cancer treatment itself at Gila Regional, but also their pharmaceuticals and other services, it was a big hit to the hospital’s bottom line. In cancer center losses alone, Gila Regional lost more than $1.5 million in fall 2017 alone.

That was a big hole to fill. Arias began a financial inventory of the hospital alongside interim Chief Financial Officer JoBeth Vance, who began at Gila Regional in March and is still here. In that, Arias has said that Vance and her team found numerous financial inefficiencies to correct.

As another cost-saving measure, Arias decided to lay off an additional five administrators, eliminating their positions in August. Those cuts included District 28 state Sen. Howie Morales and Holley Hudgins, director of Gila Regional Cardiology, Cancer Center and Hospital-based Physician Practices, and wife of District 39 state Rep. Rudy Martinez. Rep. Martinez labeled the move a political retaliation against him for, just a week earlier, calling on the State Auditor’s Office to investigate the hospital board of trustees’ decision-making process in the cancer center contractor change. Arias denied this, saying the decision was a long time coming and based on more efficiently operating Gila Regional, which is the job she was tasked to do.

Since Arias and Vance began tightening the hospital’s belt and keeping better track of the hospital’s expenditures and collections, Gila Regional has lost less money each month.

The hospital board of trustees has taken fire from one persistent Grant County resident for continuing to pay Vance the high salary and expensive benefits a contractor in such a high position is given — $93 per hour in work weeks often well over 40 hours, plus housing, travel, food, and a car. Resident and cancer patient Linda Nichols began investigating and reporting the hospital’s financial losses from the lack of a cancer center transition plan. But she soon shifted her gaze to the hundreds of thousands of dollars the hospital has paid the interim CFO to stay on for nearly a year without completing their search for a permanent replacement. Nichols has always acknowledged Vance’s qualifications and skills, but questioned if the hospital had the money to continue her contract. Some board members, though, say those qualifications and skills not only justified Vance’s pay, but made it too low.

In 2018, Gila Regional’s — now almost completely different — executive administrators still have a lot of work to do, with several pricey but needed facilities, infrastructure and equipment improvements on the horizon.